Hi all,
I have a Scwinn 26" unicycle purchased in 1992 from Oddballs in London.
I did London to Brighton on it that year & have only used it occasionally since. (I do ride other Uni’s)
It’s in good condition for year, still has original saddle & cover but the pedals have been replaced.
The question I have, is what’s it worth?
Thanks,
Nasher
http://www.unicycle.com/unicycles/bymanufacturer/schwinn you can find new prices here for similar unicycles.
If it has cottered cranks, that to me decreases the value significantly, but I think the schwinns that new had square tapered? It does depend on condition, but I can tell you I wouldn’t spend more than $50-100 (USD) on a unicycle that age depending on condition and how bad I wanted it at the time. Ymmv of course, but most serious riders have moved on to the newer/better tech. The market for old unicycles where I am is people who want to get into learning and don’t want to spend a lot, or experienced unicyclists looking to buy cheap wheels for other people to learn on for a class or something.
The good thing is that the schwinn is particularly solid.
You may want to check out unicycle chat on facebook, and the wanted section here and look up similar wheels that have sold.
In great condition $50 is about right. As an early 90’s version it should have cotterless cranks, but weirdly with 1/2" pedals. Also, it will have 36 hole aluminum rims with standard sized tires (not Schwinn sized as on earlier models).
I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a 26" Schwinn uni, so if that is really what you have it may be a collector piece. Unfortunately there isn’t really a strong market for unicycle collecting, so the value doesn’t really change.
What color is the rim, and the seat? What graphics are on the legs? If you could post some pictures that would help.
Are you sure it’s a 26"? That’s a size I’ve never heard of a schwinn.
They never made a 26". If it actually is one, it’s either been (extensively) modified, or it might be worth a LOT! 
Beyond that, it’s hard to pin a “market value” to used unicycles because there mostly isn’t such a market. Somebody might think it’s worth quite a bit, but probably not more than the equivalent of $100 US. And probably quite a bit, to where the estimate of $50 would be a very fair price depending on condition.
I think the cotters got replaced by square taper in 1979/80.
Pretty much. Hardly anyone is looking for “classic” or collectible unicycles. And actually if they are, in the case of a Schwinn, older ones would probably be worth more.
I don’t know what year Schwinn “caved” from their more modern design, which came in late '86 after a 3-year hiatus from unicycle-making, to the so-called Classic look, which was a big step backward, around the mid-90s. The modern ones, in 24" size, had big blue stickers down the sides, blue alloy rims and blue & white tires. Those also came with blue seats with white bumpers. The 20" remained chrome and black, but still with big stickers down the sides. Which type is yours?
That looks like a Schwinn frame and a tight fit for the tire and wheel that are on it. It looks like the tire comes really close to the inside of the crown. Maybe it’s a 24" unicycle into which someone squeezed a bigger wheel.
The spoke lace pattern looks interesting like it’s only a one-cross or two-cross pattern. Kind of weak for high-torque pedaling but great strength in compression.
It’s a Semcycle! Based on the Schwinn design, but with refinements. Note the odd spoke pattern (cross 1). Original Semcycles (1985) came with radial spokes. They look really cool, but don’t hold up well without constant truing. The cross 1 pattern seems to work fine. I didn’t know they came in 26" but if the tire doesn’t rub, they certainly did! And it has the best square taper axle you could get back then, which is saying a lot, since there weren’t any splined unicycle axles at all.
Oh, just saw Harper’s response. The Semcycle frame has a “bump” down the middle of it to make it more rigid and allowing for less material (I’m pretty sure they were lighter than Schwinn’s).
It could indeed be a 26" wheel crammed in there, but as those frames (Schwinn, Sem, Others of similar design), it would be terrible if there’s tight clearance. I know this from experience, having tried to cram a 26" wheel (with knobby tire) into a Schwinn frame back in the 90s. It was my first purpose-made Muni! Even with a spacer to push the frame halves apart, it still rubbed like crazy whenever you pedaled hard. So it was fine as long as you weren’t going downhill or uphill! 
Ah, I see it. It’s not just a flat bar of steel like the Schwinn frame.
